Brisbane 2032 Olympics: Annastacia Palaszczuk delays committee picks

Planning for Brisbane’s 2032 Olympics has stalled as the Premier delays the selection of her appointments to the organising committee.

Momentum towards planning Brisbane’s Olympics has stalled as Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk delays the selection of her four appointments to the powerful Games organising committee.

Ms Palaszczuk, who has previously promoted the benefits of having a decade to plan the 2032 Olympics, has refused to name her four choices for the Brisbane Organising Committee for the Olympic Games.

Ms Palaszczuk last month committed to name her four selections to the organising committee in January, however she said yesterday she would now wait until executive search firm Odgers Berndtson – which is separately recruiting five independent directors – had concluded its search.

“I will be waiting to see who else has also applied through the recruitment selection process,” Ms Palaszczuk said.

“That has just closed at the moment and they are being short-listed,” she said.

Odgers Berndtson is interviewing potential committee directors and will provide their recommendations to Ms Palaszczuk and Prime Minister Scott Morrison for their joint approval.

Ms Palaszczuk’s delay comes despite Mr Morrison naming his four nominees in December.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk

Critics argue there is no need for Ms Palaszczuk to wait for Odgers Berndtson to finish its selection process and fear delays could mean the organising committee won’t meet before the federal election is held around May.

A Labor victory would see two of Mr Morrison’s selections – Sports Minister Richard Colebeck and Liberal National MP Ted O’Brien – automatically booted from the 2032 organising committee and federal Labor leader Anthony Albanese permitted to name his own directors.

Ms Palaszczuk is expected to name herself and Queensland Sport Minister Stirling Hinchliffe to the organising committee, but she has declined to publicly comment.

The first meeting of the Brisbane Organising Committee for the Olympic Games was due to be held this month, but the lack of appointees has resulted in it being pushed back to an undisclosed date.

There are nine vacancies on the committee.

Opposition Leader David Crisafulli called for Ms Palaszczuk to reveal her selections, saying the Government “cannot afford to waste another day”.

“Here is another example of (the Government’s) failure to deliver,” he said.

“The Premier announced in December that a global search was under way, and just last month she said we’d know who would be on the organising committee by now, so what’s the hold-up?”